March Madness: 8 bold predictions for 2019 NCAA Tournament
By Brian Rauf
4) All four No. 1 seeds make the Elite Eight
How many times have all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four? It has only happened one time in 2008 when UNC, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA accomplished it.
This year’s group of No. 1 seeds will be close as all will be in the Elite Eight, though I think one will fall short before making the Final Four.
Duke and Virginia have virtual cakewalks to the Elite Eight as the top two overall seeds. Sure, Duke may have to face a tough Virginia Tech team that has already beaten them in the Sweet 16, but the Blue Devils didn’t have Zion Williamson in that loss. If Oregon gets to the Sweet 16 as I predict, there’s a possibility Virginia won’t face a team seeded higher than No. 9 until a potential showdown with Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
And, yes, Virginia is going to get past a No. 16 seed this year, don’t worry.
North Carolina may actually have the toughest road of any No. 1 seed with potential games against a very good Utah State team and then either a hot Auburn or Kansas with the game being played in Kansas City. While that would be a tough stretch, the Heels would be sizable favorites in all three games – they’ve won 15 of their last 17 games for a reason.
That leaves us with Gonzaga, who might get a rematch in the Sweet 16 with the same Florida State that knocked them out in that stage a year ago. The Zags are too good to have that happen two years in a row in my opinion and, being out west, that home crowd will give them too big of an advantage.
There are about 10 teams in the country that clearly separated themselves from the rest of the country during the regular season in my mind, and obviously, all the No. 1 seeds are in that group. We’ll see the cream rise to the top as the tournament rolls on.